Prosecutors play a significant role in determining the trajectory of individual cases and shaping system-wide outcomes in the criminal legal system. NACDL partnered with Fair & Just Prosecution to host a discussion about racial disparities in prosecution, how to reduce these disparities, and ways to center racial equity in prosecutorial reform efforts.

Approximately 13 million misdemeanor charges are filed each year in the U.S., representing around 80% of all cases. Law enforcement’s unchecked discretion allows them to use the extensive collection of misdemeanor offenses to stop, search, and arrest individuals—disproportionately Black and Latinx individuals—for behaviors unrelated to public safety. In serving as the justification for these stops, misdemeanors often provide a gateway to police violence, as in the cases of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Daunte Wright, and George Floyd, each of whom was stopped for a suspected misdemeanor.

This discussion examines the roles of race, power, and engagement in the attorney-client relationship.

In Part II of the discussion on Race and Collateral Consequences, we explore how the use of “moral character” clauses, like those used in state bar licensing, can prevent individuals with convictions from participating in the legal profession. We also discuss a range of restrictions to entrepreneurial ventures that people with criminal convictions face that range from limiting a person’s ability to access capital through loans to barring participation in the legal, regulated cannabis industry.

In celebration of Second Chance Month in April, NACDL hosts the first of two discussions on race and collateral consequences. Panelists discuss the long-term impacts of criminal convictions, the specific harm that collateral consequences have caused to communities of color, and what it will take to meaningfully change this system.

An important discussion on the ways in which systemic racism manifests itself in the pretrial process and how we can work towards change.

This conversation examines the ways in which the chattel slavery system of America’s early history manifests itself in the variety of ways in which Black people are literally and symbolically policed today.

Race Matters in our criminal legal system. It affects what happens from initial contact with police on the street and pretrial determinations, to the end of the case and everything in between. Race impacts the length of sentence someone is likely to receive and whether or not they receive the death penalty. This discussion series seeks to highlight how race intersects with various issues in the criminal legal system, navigating these racial disparities, and ways to advocate for change.